In this video, we’ll explain what an intrathecal pump is and why you might need one. We’ll also explain the parts of an intrathecal pump.
Visit About the Surgery To Place Your Intrathecal Pump and What To Expect While You Have an Intrathecal Pump to watch parts 2 and 3 of this video series.
Show transcript
In this video, we’ll explain what an intrathecal pump is and why you might need one. We’ll also explain the parts of an intrathecal pump.
An intrathecal pump is a medical device that holds liquid pain medicine. It’s put under your skin and releases pain medicine into your intrathecal space, the space around the nerves in your spine.
An intrathecal pump releases medicine slowly over time. It can also give you an extra dose of pain medicine when you need it. This extra dose is called a bolus.
Your doctor may recommend an intrathecal pump if oral or intravenous pain medicines aren’t controlling your pain or are causing too many side effects.
Oral and IV pain medicines travel to every part of your body. This can cause side effects such as nausea, constipation, and sleepiness.
With an intrathecal pump, the pain medicine is sent right to the nerves that are feeling pain. That means less medicine gets to the rest of your body, which can help limit side effects. It also helps the medicine work better.
Intrathecal pumps have 2 main parts: the pump and the catheter.
The pump is round and metal. It’s about 1 inch thick and 3 inches wide, like a hockey puck. It will be under the skin of your belly and will look like a bulge.
Inside, the pump has a hollow space to hold pain medicine. This space is called the reservoir. It will slowly empty as you use the pain medicine, and you’ll have an appointment with your pain clinician every 1 to 3 months to refill it.
The pump also has electronics that control when and how quickly it releases pain medicine. During your visits to refill your pump, your pain clinician can adjust these settings.
The catheter is a thin, flexible tube that carries pain medicine from the pump to the nerves in your spine.
The battery in an intrathecal pump usually lasts for 4 to 7 years. Your pain clinician will see an alert if the battery is getting low. There will be enough time to schedule a surgery to replace the pump before the battery runs out, if you choose to.
It’s safe to have MRIs and other imaging scans while you have an intrathecal pump.
If you have an MRI, tell the technologist you have an intrathecal pump before they start your scan. Your pump will stop working for a short time, and it may sound an alarm while it's stopped. It should go back to working normally soon after the MRI.
For more information about intrathecal pumps, visit msk.org/pe and search “intrathecal pump.”
You can also visit msk.org/pe/intrathecal-part-2 and msk.org/pe/intrathecal-part-3 to watch parts two and three of this video.
If you have any questions, contact your healthcare provider.